Generating of high rate modulated pulse streams

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an all optical system for generating high rate modulated signals including: a generator for generating a first periodic signal at a first rate; an optical chopping device arranged to receive the first periodic signal for producing a second periodic signal having pulses that are narrower than the pulses of the first signal; a splitting device for receiving and splitting the second periodic signal into multiple images of the second periodic signal propagating along multiple optical paths, the multiple optical paths including optical modulators for modulating the images of the second periodic signal at a first rate to produce modulated signals; an interleaving device for receiving and interleaving the modulated signals to produce a stream of modulated signal having a second ratewhich is higher than the first rate. In another version the present invention provides an optical rate increasing device, and in yet another version the present invention provides a system for interleaving multiple information channels into a high rate data stream.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/472,776, filed May 23, 2003, entitled“Generating of High Rate Modulated Pulse Streams”.

In addition, this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 10/640,035 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,212,705),10/640,018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,130,539), 10/640,017 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,218,862), and 10/640,040 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,956,998), all filed Aug.14, 2003, entitled “All Optical Decoding Systems For Decoding OpticalEncoded Data Symbols Across Multiple Decoding Layers”, “All OpticalDecoding Systems For Optical Encoded Data Symbols”, “All Optical CrossRouting Using Decoding Systems For Optical Encoded Data Symbols” and“Compact Optical Delay Lines”, respectively, all of which claim thebenefit U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/405,697, filedAug. 22, 2002, entitled “Streaming Signal Control System for DigitalCommunication”.

In addition this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/404,140 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,795,626), filedApr. 2, 2003, entitled “Optical Threshold Devices and Method”.

In addition this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/404,077 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,892,016), filedApr. 2, 2003, entitled “Optical Threshold Devices and Method”.

In addition this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/472,244 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,215,844), filedSep. 22, 2003, entitled “Optical Pulse Chopper” which is a NationalPhase application of PCT application Ser. No. WO02079838(PCT/US02/09969), filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled “Optical Pulse Chopper”.

In addition this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/826,363 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,557) filed Apr.19, 2004, entitled “All Optical Chopping For Shaping and ReshapingApparatus And Method” which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/464,351, filed Apr. 22, 2003, entitled“All Optical Chopping For Shaping and Reshaping Apparatus And Method”.

In addition this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/827,314 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7.203.396), filedApr. 20, 2004, entitled “All Optical Chopping Using Logic GatesApparatus And Method” which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/465,237, filed Apr. 25, 2003, entitled“All Optical Chopping Using Logic Gates Apparatus And Method”.

In addition this application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/834,343, filed Apr. 29, 2004, entitled “AllOptical Chromatic and Polarization Mode Dispersion Correctors” whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/467,563, filed May 5, 2003, entitled “All Optical Chromatic andPolarization Mode Dispersion Correctors”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to optical communication devices and systems and,more particularly, to optical systems and devices for generatinghigh-rate modulated pulse streams of narrow pulses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of optical communication, there is an increasing demand totransmit information at higher rates. Increasing the transmission raterequires the generation of narrower pulses arranged at higher density.To generate very narrow pulses, there is a need for very fastmodulators. For the desired bit rates of some applications, there are nomodulators available that are capable of producing the desiredmodulation rate. A lower bit rates, some modulators may be available;however, such modulators are complex and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of some exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention to provide high rate modulated streams of pulses.

Another object of some exemplary embodiments of the present invention isto provide high rate modulated streams of pulses generated by modulatorsthat operate at a rate that is lower than the rate of the pulses in thestream that they produce.

Another object of some exemplary embodiments of the present invention isto provide high rate modulated streams of narrow pulses generated bymodulators having a time window wider than the width of pulses theyproduce.

Another object of some exemplary embodiments of the present invention isto provide high rate modulated streams of pulses using mode lockedlasers.

Another object of some exemplary embodiments of the present invention isto provide a system that is capable of interleaving several parallelinformation channels into a serial channel operating at a ratesubstantially equal to the sum of the rates of the interleaved parallelchannels.

Another object of some exemplary embodiments of the present invention isto provide a rate increase device to increase the rate of periodicoptical signals.

Yet another object of some exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention is to provide high rate modulated streams of pulses usingoptical choppers.

In one exemplary version, the present invention provides an all opticalsystem for generating high rate modulated signals including:

a generator for generating a first periodic signal at a first rate;

a rate increasing device arranged to receive the first periodic signaland to produce a second periodic signal at a second rate that is higherthan the first rate;

a splitting device to receive and split the second periodic signal intomultiple images of the second periodic signal propagating along multipleoptical paths, the multiple optical paths including optical modulatorsto modulate the images of the second periodic signal at the second rateto produce modulated signals; and

an interleaving device to receive and interleave the modulated signalsto produce a stream of modulated signal having a third rate higher thanthe second rate.

In another exemplary version, the present invention provides an alloptical system for generating high rate modulated signals including:

a generator for generating a first periodic signal at a first rate;

an optical chopping device arranged to receive the first periodic signaland to produce a second periodic signal having pulses that are narrowerthan the pulses of the first signal;

a splitting device for receiving and splitting the second periodicsignal into multiple images of the second periodic signal propagatingalong multiple optical paths, the multiple optical paths includingoptical modulators for modulating the images of the second periodicsignal at the first rate to produce modulated signals;

an interleaving device for receiving and interleaving the modulatedsignals to produce a stream of modulated signal having a second ratehigher than the first rate.

In an alternative exemplary version, the present invention provides anoptical rate increasing device including:

an optical loop including an optical amplifier and a gate and having afirst and a second terminals, the optical loop arranged to receive afirst periodic signal from the first terminal and to produce at thesecond terminal a second periodic signal,

wherein the rate of the second periodic signal is higher than the rateof the first periodic signal.

In yet another exemplary version, the present invention provides anall-optical system for interleaving the signals of multiple informationchannels including:

multiple optical chopping devices arranged along multiple optical pathsto receive and chop the pulses of a first group of information channelsand to produce a second group of information channels having pulses thatare narrower than the pulses of the first group of information channels;and

an interleaving device to receive and interleave the second group ofsignals from the multiple optical paths and to produce an informationchannel operating at a rate higher that the rate of each of theinformation channels of the first group.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully fromthe following detailed description of embodiments of the invention,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a stream of pulses, such as,produced by a Mode Locked Laser (MLL) that their time width is narrowerthan the periodic time space between them;

FIG. 2 a schematically illustrates a rate multiplier device used toincrease the pulse rate in stream, such as, the streams of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 b is a schematic illustration of a symbol representing the deviceof FIG. 2 a;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a pulse stream produced at theoutput of the rate multiplier device of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b when itreceives, in its input, the pulse stream illustrated by FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b schematically illustrate rate multiplying systemsincluding modular units of rate multiplier devices, such as, the devicesof FIGS. 2 a and 2 b combined by combinations of serial and parallelconnections;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a stream of pulses produced at theoutput of the rate multiplying systems illustrated by FIGS. 4 a and 4 b;

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b illustrate the stream of pulses before and after therate multiplying system of FIG. 6 c, respectively;

FIG. 6 c is a schematic illustration of a system for producing high ratemodulated stream of pulses having a pulse rate that is higher than therate of the modulators used to produce it;

FIG. 6 d is a schematic illustration of a modulated stream of pulsesproduced at the output of the system of FIG. 6 c when this systemreceives, at its input, the stream of pulses of FIG. 6 a;

FIG. 7 a is a schematic illustration of rate multiplier device includingMLL and a loop;

FIG. 7 b schematically illustrates a system that is a part of the systemof FIG. 6 c designed for producing high rate modulated signals usingmodulation and interleaving of narrow pulses;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a system designed for producinghigh rate modulated signals using modulated laser and optical chopper;and

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a rate conversion system includingoptical choppers capable of interleaving multiple parallel informationchannels into a serial information channel operating at a rate equal tothe sum of the rates of the interleaved channels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

I. Rate Multipliers of Streams of Narrow Pulses FIG. 1 illustrates a bitstream 100 generated by a Mode Locked Laser (MLL). The propagation ofpulses 102 in stream 100 having time width W is illustrated along timeaxis t having arbitrary units. Stream 100 is characterized by extremelynarrow pulses (narrow width W) and relatively large periodical spacing Tbetween pulses 102. Accordingly, stream 100 propagates with relativelylow frequency, resulting in low duty cycle (low filling factor W/T<<1).While the pulses width W is very narrow and thus very attractive forbeing used in high transmission rate of information, the rate of thepulses produced by the MLL is far from being suitable for this purpose.

FIG. 2 a illustrates a device 200 for multiplying the pulse rate in astream of pulses. Device 200 includes input 202 for receiving a streamof pulses, such as for example, stream 100 of FIG. 1. The pulsesreceived at input 202 are split equally, by splitter (coupler) 204 intosimilar stream of pulses propagating in branches of radiation guides 206and 208. The stream of pulses that propagates in branch 208 is delayed,by delay line 210, in the amount of Δt₁. Combiner (coupler) 212 combinesand interleaves the pulse stream received from non-delayed branch 206with the delayed pulse stream received from branch 208 to produce, atport 214, a combined interleaved stream of pulses having pulse rate thatis higher than the original pulse rate of the stream of pulses receivedat input 202.

FIG. 2 b schematically illustrates a symbol representation 220 of device200 of FIG. 2 a, having input 222 and output 224, corresponding to input202 and output 214 of device 200, respectively. Schematic symbol 220represents a device that performs a function similar to the function ofdevice 200, i.e. rate multiplying. The amount of time delay Δt₁ producedby delay line 210 in device 220 of FIG. 2 a is indicated by the labelΔt₁ written inside symbol 220.

FIG. 3 illustrates an output stream 300 of pulses 302, such as, thestream of pulses that is produced by device 200 of FIG. 2 a and device220 of FIG. 2 b at their respective outputs 214 and 224, when a streamof pulses 100 of FIG. 1 is received at inputs 202 and 222, respectively.Stream 300 is illustrated along time axis t with arbitrary units. Whenthe time delay Δt₁ of delay line 210 of FIG. 2 a is set to be equal tohalf of the time period T of stream 100 of FIG. 1, combiner 212 of FIG.2 a produces pulse stream 300 at port 214 with a time period of T/2,resulting in a pulse stream 300 having double the frequency of stream100.

Referring to FIGS. 4 a, 4 b and 5, FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustratedevices/systems 400 and 402, respectively, achieving the samefunctionality of multiplying the pulse rate. FIG. 5 shows the outputstream received at outputs 404 and 406 of devices 400 and 402,respectively, when stream 100 of FIG. 1 is received at inputs 408 and410, respectively.

FIG. 4 a illustrates rate multiplier 400 including multipliers 412, 414and 416 connected in series and characterized by delays Δt₁, Δt₂ and Δt₃equal to T/2, T/4 and T/8, respectively. Device 412 output is connectedto device 414 input by guide 418 and device 414 output is connected todevice 416 input by guide 420. Device 412 having delay Δt₁=T/2 receives,at input 408, stream 100 of FIG. 1 having time period T and produces, atguide 418, a stream of pulses similar to stream 300 of FIG. 3 havingdouble the frequency of stream 100 and time period T/2. Device 414having delay Δt₂T/4 receives, from guide 418, stream like stream 300 ofFIG. 3 having time period T/2 and produces, at guide 420, a stream ofpulses having double the frequency of stream 300 and time period T/4.Similarly, device 416 having delay Δt₃=T/8 receives, from guide 420,stream of pulses having time period T/4 and produces, at output 404, astream of pulses having double the frequency of the stream in guide 420and a time period T/8. In general, n modular devices 220 of FIG. 2 b,such as, units 412, 414 and 416 of FIG. 4 a, connected in series, eachhaving a time delay of Δt_(i)=T/(2 ^(i)) where i is the device index (ispans from 1 to n), produce a stream at the output having frequency thatis multiplied by a factor 2 ^(n) of the stream at its input.

Modular devices 220 of FIG. 2 b may be connected in any combination ofserial and parallel connections, such as the combinations of device 402illustrated by FIG. 4 b brought here as an example. Device 402 mayreceive at its input 410, a stream of pulses like stream 100 of FIG. 1.The received stream is split, by splitter 422 into guide branches 424,426, 428 and 429 including multipliers 430, 432, 434 and 435,respectively. Multipliers 430, 432, 434 and 435 having time delayΔt₁=T/2 which is half of the time period T of stream 100. Accordingly,the pulse rate after multipliers 430, 432, 434 and 435 at each branch424, 426, 428 and 429, respectively, is double the rate of stream 100 atinput 410. The streams with the multiplied rate at branches 424, 426,428 and 429 may be delayed, by delay lines 436, 438, 440 and 441,respectively. The delayed streams from branches 424, 426, 428 and 429are combined with equal spaces, by combiner 442 to create interleavedstreams, at output 406, propagating as a serial stream that its rate ishigher than the pulse rate of stream 100 at input 410. The time periodof the pulses of the streams at branches 424, 426, 428 and 429 aftermultipliers 430, 432, 434 and 435, respectively, is T/2. This time spaceshould be divided between four interleaved streams arriving frombranches 424, 426, 428 and 429. Accordingly, each stream from branches424, 426, 428 and 429 should be shifted in time by an amount of

$\frac{T/2}{4} = {T/8}$relative to its adjacent streams. Thus delay lines 436, 438, 440 and 441may be adjusted to create time delays τ, τ+T/8, τ+2T/8, τ+3T/8,respectively, where τ may be chosen arbitrarily.

It can be seen that both rate multiplier 400 of FIG. 4 a and ratemultiplier 402 of FIG. 4 b increase the rate of the pulses by a factorof 8.

FIG. 5 illustrates a stream of pulses 500 including pulses 502 havingwidth W that are separated by time period T/8 and propagate along timeaxis t having arbitrary units. Stream 500 is produced at ports 404 and406 of devices 400 and 402, respectively, in a situation where stream100 is received at respective inputs 408 and 410 and its rate isincreased by a factor of 8 to produce the rate of stream 500. The widthW of pulses 102 of FIG. 1, producing stream 100, and pulses 502 of FIG.5, producing stream 500, is the same

The rate increase by devices, such as, devices 400 and 402 is notlimited to a factor of 8 and any factor may be achieved depends on thenumber of modular units 220 of FIG. 2 b used in the configuration of themultiplying devices.

II. Rate Multipliers for Streams of Narrow Pulses Combined withModulation Interleaving System

Referring to FIGS. 6 a-6 d, FIG. 6 c illustrates a high rate modulationsystem 700 including illustrations of FIGS. 6 a, 6 b and 6 d of thepulse streams at various locations along system 700.

FIG. 6 a illustrates stream of pulses 600 similar to stream 100 of FIG.1 including very narrow pulses 602 separated by a time period T andhaving width W. Stream 600 is illustrated along time axis t havingarbitrary units.

FIG. 6 b shows stream of pulses 650 including pulses 652 having the samewidth W and the same amplitude of pulses 602 of stream 600 of FIG. 6 a.The time period in which pulses 652 are separated is T/k. Accordingly,stream 650 may represent a stream 600 that its pulse rate is increasedby a factor k.

FIG. 6 c illustrates system 700 for producing a high rate modulatedstream of pulses having a rate that is higher than the rate ofmodulators 754, 756 and 758 used in system 700. System 700 may includeoptical guides and electrical leads. To ease the differentiation betweenthe optical guides and the electrical leads, the optical guides areillustrated by lines that are wider than the lines used to illustratethe electrical leads.

Input 702 receives stream 600 of FIG. 6 a of very narrow pulses atrelatively low rate that may be produced by a MLL (not shown). Stream600 may be amplified by optical amplifiers, such as, amplifier 704 and720 and its rate is increased by rate multipliers, such as, multipliers706, 708, 710, 724, 726 and 728 connected by guides 712, 714, 716, 718,719, 722, 730, 732 and 734. Broken lines 717 indicate that part ofsystem 700 between lines 717 is not illustrated and only part of thesystem structure is illustrated in the segment between input 702 andconnecting point A. Accordingly it should be clear that the segmentbetween input 702 and connecting point A may include many amplifiers,such as, amplifiers 704 and 720 and n rate multipliers, such as,multipliers 706, 708, 710, 724, 726 and 728 connected by guides 712,714, 716, 718, 719, 722, 730, 732 and 734, respectively. The index i ofthe rate multiplier starts with i=1 for multiplier 706 and ends with i=nfor multiplier 728. The time delay characterizing each of the ratemultiplier is given by its index i and is equal to Δt_(i)=T/(2^(i)).Thus when the index i of multiplier 728 equals to n, the rate increasebetween input 702 and point A is 2^(n), defined as k. Since the ratemultiplication between input 702 and point A involves energy splittingbetween split and interleaved streams, it is clear that amplificationshould be used to maintain the amplitude of the stream at point A to beequal to the initial amplitude of the stream at input 702. Accordingly,in a situation where the total amplification of the amplifiers betweeninput 702 and point A is adjusted to maintain the same amplitudes forthe pulses in the streams at input 702 and point A and when the rate,between input 702 and point A, is increased by a factor equal to k, thenthe signal at input 702 may be represented by stream 600 of FIG. 6 a andthe signal at point A may be represented by stream 650 of FIG. 6 b.

Signal 650, received from point A, is transmitted by guide 736 intopoint B which is the input of subsystem 660. From point B, stream 650propagates along guide 740, through coupler 738 and via amplifier 744into splitter 746. Splitter 746 splits stream 650 into similar streams650A, 650B and 650C propagating along guides 748, 750 and 752,respectively. For the clarity of the drawing and to avoid crowdedness,only stream 650A in guide 748 is illustrated and streams 650B and 650Cin guides 750 and 752, respectively, are not shown. The amplification ofamplifier 744 may be adjusted to produce amplification that will producestreams 650A-650C having amplitudes similar to the amplitudes of streams600 and 650 at input 702 and point A, respectively.

Streams 650A, 650B and 650C have the same pulse rate as the pulse rateof stream 650 at point A and are received by modulators 754, 756 and758, respectively. The time period of streams 650A-650C should be equalor longer than the time window of modulators 754, 756 and 758. Underthis condition, modulators 754, 756 and 758 may transmit or block,individually, any single pulse in streams 650A-650C to generate, fromstreams 650A-650C, any desired pattern of modulated stream signal. Itshould be clear that even when the rate of the pulses in streams650A-650C was increased by a factor of k relative to the initial rate ofstream 600 at input 702, still the width of the pulses W in streams650A-650C is smaller and may be much smaller than the time space T/kbetween the pulses in these streams. The requirement for W<T/k isnecessary to allow the interleaving of streams 650A-650C. It also shouldbe clear that even when the rate of the pulses in streams 650A-650C wasincreased by a factor of k relative to the initial rate of stream 600 atinput 702, still the time windowing of modulators 754, 756 and 758 isnarrower than the time space T/k between the pulses of streams650A-650C. Thus any single pulse in streams 650A-650C may be blocked ortransmitted by modulators 754, 756 and 758, respectively.

An example of a modulation function of modulator 754 is schematicallyillustrated by graph 662. Modulation function 662 demonstrates theability of modulator 754 to block or transmit any single pulse in stream650A. Modulators 754, 756 and 758 are controlled individually bycontroller 664. Controller 664 receives electrical signals fromelectronic channels 666, 668 and 670. Controller 664 may include bufferand processor for storing and efficiently rearranging data received fromchannels 666, 668 and 670. Modulators 754, 756 and 758 are controlled,by controller 664, and each of them is controlled individually andaccording to the information received by individual electronic channels666, 668 and 670 received by controller 664, respectively.

According to the data received from channels 666, 668 and 670,controller 664 produces control signals sent through leads 672, 674 and676 to control modulators 754, 756 and 758, respectively. Each ofmodulators 754, 756 and 758 produces, according to the control signalsthat it receives from controller 664, a transmission function similar totransmission function 662 of modulator 754.

Stream 650A appears, in guide 680, after modulator 754, as modulatedstream 678. Similarly streams 650B and 650C appear, in guides 682 and684, after modulators 756 and 758 as streams 686 and 688, respectively,(not shown). Streams 678, 686 and 688 are combined from guides 680, 682and 684, respectively and interleaved by combiner 690 to produce serialstream of pulses, at port 692, at a rate that is higher from both therate of stream 650 and the rate of modulators 754, 756 and 758.

Delay lines 694, 696 and 698 are arranged to produce time delays thatadjust the interleaving of modulated streams 678, 686 and 688,respectively, to be with equal time space between interleaved streams678, 686 and 688. Delay lines 794, 796 and 798 may be removed fromguides 680, 682 and 684, respectively, if the proper delays betweenstreams 678, 686 and 688 may be produced electronically by controller664.

Part of stream 650 is tapped into guide 742, by coupler 738, to providesynchronization signal into controller 664 to produce synchronizationbetween modulators 754, 756 and 758 and streams 650A, 659B and 650C,respectively.

Subsystem 660 is illustrated by a specific example including threeinterleaved channels 678, 686 and 688. However, system 660 may includemore interleaved channels. The maximum number of channels that can beinterleaved is given by the ratio between the time period of streams650A-650C and twice the pulse width

$\frac{T/k}{2\; W}.$This means that the rate at port 692 may be higher than the rate ofmodulators 754, 756 and 758 by a factor of

$\frac{1}{2W}$where W<<1. In this case the delay between two adjacent streams,interleaved by combiner 690, should be 2W. Thus, in a situation wherethe maximum rate at port 690 is achieved, the delays produced in guideslike guides 680, 682 and 684, by delay lines like 694, 696 and 698 or bycontroller 664 should be an integral numbers of 2W and are given by2·W·i where i is the index of the interleaved channels.

FIG. 6 d illustrates modulated and interleaved stream 800 that appearsin port 692 of FIG. 6 c. Stream 800 is illustrated along time axis thaving arbitrary units. Stream 800 may have a pulse rate that is higherthan the rate of modulators 754, 756 and 758 of FIG. 6 c, used toproduce stream 800. In addition pulses 802 of stream 800 are narrowerthan the time window of modulators 754, 756 and 758 of FIG. 6 c, used toproduce stream 800. The amplitude of pulses 802 may be equal to theamplitude of pulses 602 received at input 702.

Subsystem 660 of FIG. 6 c receives stream 650 when the duty-factor ofstream 650 is much smaller than 1. Accordingly, several streams likestream 650 can be modulated individually and can be interleaved into oneserial stream 800 having a modulation rate that is higher than themodulation rates of the modulators used to produce it.

III. Using a Loop to Duplicate Pulses

In another alternative, FIG. 7 a illustrates another system 850 used toincrease the pulse rate of narrow pulses 856 in a relatively low ratestream 854. The rate of stream 854 may be increased up to the rate limitequal to the rate of modulators 754, 756 and 758 used in sub-system 660of system 700 of FIG. 6 c.

System 850, including a single mode locked laser 852 as shown in FIG. 7a, feeds a signal stream 854 into upper branch 858 of input 860 ofdirectional coupler 862. Input branch 858 is coupled to upper and lowerbranches 864 and 866 of output 870 via coupler 862. Lower output branch866 is connected, by loop 868, to lower input branch 874 of input 860.Loop 868 includes amplifier 876, adjustable delay loop 872, thresholddevice 890 and gate 878. At a certain starting time, the first pulsesignal 856 is received by the upper branch 858 of input 860 of coupler862. Directional coupler 862 divides the energy of each pulse, as pulse856, that are part of signal stream 854 into an output pulse propagatingthrough output branch 864 and a returned pulse propagating toward loop868 via output branch 866. A portion of the energy of pulse signal 854is directed through output 864 and appears as the first output signal ofdevice 850. The other part of the energy of signal 854 enters into loop868 which sends its energy back to input branch 874 at input 860. Thepart of pulse signal 854 that propagates along loop 868 (the returnedsignal) is amplified by amplifier 876 and passes through delay loop 872,threshold device 890 and gate 878 to return to input branch 874 ofcoupler 862.

The returned part of signal stream 854 that returned to input branch874, through loop 868, is divided, by coupler 862 into an output signalat the upper branch 864 and a returned signal directed back into loop868. This process may repeat itself in a steady-state condition toproduce a train of duplicated narrow output signals. To provide a steadytrain of pulses, the intensity of all the re-circulating pulses shouldbe equal to the first signal that entered loop 868. In addition, thefirst output signal, at output branch 864 of output 870, should be equalto the next output pulses that follow after the delay imposed by loop868. Thus, each fraction of the energy from each pulse 856 that leavesat 864 is followed by another portion that is re-circulating through theloop 868 resulting in a continuous train of pulses.

The re-circulating pulse may be amplified by an amplifier 876. A delayloop 872 determines the spacing between an exiting pulse and thefollowing pulse that flows through the loop 868. The amplification ofamplifier 876 and energy partitioning of coupling of the directionalcoupler 862, adjusted to ensure that the output pulse train, exiting atoutput branch 864, has substantially the same amplitude. For example,this may be obtained if the coupler is of a type characterized by50/50power splitting and the amplifier 876 has a gain that compensatesfor loop loss (including propagation and bend loss) and coupler loss(50%) to assure that the product between the combined effect of gain andthe overall attenuation loss of a round trip along the loop 868 is equalto one.

The requirement for a net gain that is equal exactly to 1 may lead toinstability, in system 850, due to gain fluctuations of amplifier 876.To fulfill the requirement for a net gain equals 1 in a robust way,amplifier 876 may be operated in a mode that it is saturated by thereturn signal in loop 868. In this situation the gain of amplifier 876is clamped and fixed, resulting with a stable system 850. However, loop868 serves as a feedback loop for amplifier 876 that may cause amplifier876 to oscillate and to operate as a laser. To avoid such a situation,threshold device 890 may be used. Device 890 may be of any type ofoptical threshold device and in particular may be of the type, such as,the threshold devices disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.10/404,140 and 10/404,077, filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “OpticalThreshold Devices and Method”, (see “Reference to Other Applications”section above) which are completely incorporated here by reference.Threshold device 890 may be used to block the evolving of thespontaneous radiation, emitted by amplifier 876, into a lasing mode.

In steady state, the process of duplicating the pulses by loop 868produces a train of identical narrow pulses. This process continues tillanother pulse 856 appears in the output 854 of the MLL laser 852. Justbefore the appearance of such a pulse, gate 878 may be turned activatedto stop recirculation of a pulse in the loop 868. After the terminationof the pulse duplication and before the arrival of the next pulse 856,gate 878 is activated to block the pulse circulating in loop 868 and toallow the beginning of a new duplication process. As explained, thisprocess continues till the next activation of gate 878 and theappearance of the next pulse of signal stream 854. Gate 878 can be ashutter, an LCD window, a coherent summer receiving light from a sourcesuch that the pulse in the loop 868 is canceled, or any suitable device.It should be clear that the activation of gate 878 may take place justbefore the arrival of the next following pulse 856 from MLL 852, oralternatively may take place just before the arrival of any other pulse856.

The time interval between duplicated pulses is the time space betweenduplicated pulses and is equal to the total delay of loop 868. To createan equally spaced train of pulses, the space between two followingpulses 856 of signal stream 854 should be equal to an integral number ofspaces between duplicated pulses. The delay of loop 868 has to satisfythis condition by adjusting the delay of loop 872.

Gate 878 is activated to halt the last pulse to be repeated before a newpulse is generated by the mode locked laser 852. Gate 878 is deactivatedto allow the passage of the new pulse generated by laser 852 whichpropagates in loop 868. Thus, a narrow train of pulses 880 can begenerated with only one delay device.

Gate 878 is activated by controller 886 via electronic lead 888.Controller 886 receives a synchronization signal tapped from loop 868,by coupler 882 and directed to controller 886 by guide 884. Controller886 activates gate 878 to block the duplicated pulse existing in loop868 just before the arrival of another pulse 856 and to open gate 878upon the first newly returned pulse in loop 868. The time between theactivations of gate 878 may be periodic and synchronized according tothe signal tapped and fed from loop 868 into controller 886.

System 850 produces a stream 880 that consists of very narrow pulses 892separated by time space that is larger than their width. The rate ofpulses 892 may be high up to the rate of the modulators used to modulatestream 880. Accordingly, stream 880 is similar to streams 650 of FIG. 6b and streams 650A-650C of FIG. 6 c. Thus, stream 880 may be modulated,by subsystem 660 of FIG. 6 c to produce a stream like stream 800 of FIG.6 d in which the rate of modulated pulses 802 in stream 800 is higherthan the rate of pulses 652 in stream 650 of FIG. 6 b and the rate ofmodulators 754, 756 and 758 of system 660.

FIG. 7 b illustrates subsystem 660 of FIG. 6 c in a situation wheresystem 660 receives, from point C of system 850 of FIG. 7 a, into itspoint B, a stream 880 similar to stream 650 of FIG. 6 b and produces atits output 692 a modulated stream 894 similar to stream 800 of FIG. 6 d,in which the rate of modulated pulses 896 in stream 894 is higher thanthe rate of pulses 892 in stream 880 and the rate of modulators 754, 756and 758 of system 660.

Subsystem 660 of FIG. 7 b receives stream 880 where the duty-factor ofstream 880 is much smaller than 1. Accordingly, several streams likestream 880 can be modulated individually and can be interleaved into oneserial stream 894 having modulation rate that is higher than themodulation rate of the modulators used to produce it.

IV. Rate Multipliers Using Optical Choppers Combined with ModulationInterleaving Systems

FIG. 8 illustrates system 900 operating in an alternative way ofproducing a modulated stream of pulses at a rate that is higher than themaximum modulation rate of the modulators used. System 900 includes twosubsystems, system 902 and system 660 connected in series by guide 928that connects point D of subsystem 902 with point B of subsystem 660.Subsystem 660 of system 900 of FIG. 8 is the same subsystem 660 used insystems 700 of FIG. 6 c and subsystem 660 of FIG. 7 b.

Subsystem 902 of system 900 includes light source 904. Source 904 may bea modulated laser that is modulated directly or alternatively, asillustrated, may be a CW laser that is modulated externally by modulator906. The modulated signal produced, by laser 904 and modulator 906 iscoupled into guide 908 and propagates from there to guide 916 to appearthere as stream 912 including pulses 914. Guides 908 and 916 areillustrated by a discontinuity represented by a gap confined by lines910, to indicate that laser 904, modulator 906 and guide 908 may be inclose vicinity or far away from guide 916.

The rate of pulses 914 in stream 912 produced by laser 904 and modulator906 should not exceed the rate of modulators 754, 756 and 758 ofsubsystem 660. Accordingly, modulator 906 of subsystem 902 andmodulators 754, 756 and 758 of subsystem 660 may be operated at the samerate and at a rate which is the maximum that can be achieved byavailable modulators.

Pulses 914 form stream 912 by a continuous stream of pulses that appearone after the other in a constant time period T. The continuous streamof pulses 914 is needed to allow further modulation, by modulators 754,756 and 758 of subsystem 660, of pulses 914 after these pulses arechopped by chopper 920. Chopper 920 may be of any type of opticalchopper and in particular of the types disclosed in U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/472,776, filed May 23, 2003, entitled“Generating of High Rate Modulated Pulse Streams” (see “Reference toOther Applications” section above); U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/472,244, filed Sep. 22, 2003, entitled “Optical Pulse Chopper” (see“Reference to Other Applications” section above); U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/826,363, filed Apr. 19, 2004, entitled “AllOptical Chopping For Shaping and Reshaping, Apparatus and Method”, (see“Reference to Other Applications” section above); U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/827,314, filed Apr. 20, 2004, entitled “AllOptical Chopping Using Logic Gates Apparatus and Method” (see “Referenceto Other Applications” section above) and US Patent Application Inventedby Arie Shahar and Eldan Halberthal, filed Apr. 29, 2004, entitled “AllOptical Chromatic and Polarization Mode Dispersion Correctors” (see“Reference to Other Applications” section above) which all of them arethoroughly incorporated here by their reference.

Chopper 920 receives pulses 914 of stream 912 from guide 916 and chopspulses 914 into narrower pulses 924 of stream 922 propagating in guide926. While chopped pulses 924 of stream 922 in guide 926 may be muchnarrower then pre-chopped pulses 914 of stream 912 in guide 916, thetime period T between pulses 924 is the same as the time period Tbetween pulses 914.

Stream 922 may have a duty factor that is much smaller than 1 indicatingthat the time period T of pulses 924 may be much bigger than the width Wof pulses 924. In such a situation when the duty-factor of stream 922 ismuch smalle than 1, several streams like stream 922 can be modulatedindividually and can be interleaved into one serial stream havingmodulation rate that is higher than the modulation rate of themodulators used to produce it. Such a process is performed by subsystem660.

Accordingly, stream 922 is received, by subsystem 660, at point B fromguide 928 that carries stream 922 from point D. As illustrated in FIGS.6 c and 7 b and explained in their accompanied descriptions, subsystem660 may receive stream 922, similar to streams 650 and 880 of FIGS. 6 cand 7 b, respectively, and convert it into modulated stream 930 havingpulses 932 that are modulated at a rate that is higher than the rate ofmodulators 754, 756 and 758 of subsystem 660. Stream 930 produced bysubsystem 660 is similar to streams 800 and 894 of FIGS. 6 c and 7 b,respectively, also produced by subsystem 660.

V. Rate Converters

FIG. 9 illustrates system 950 including optical receiving branches 964,976 and 988. Branches 964, 976 and 988 may receive modulated streams ofpulses for carrying these streams to guides 968, 980 and 992,respectively. The discontinuity gaps between guides 964 and 968, 976 and980 and 988 and 992 confined by lines 966, 978 and 990 of branches 964,976 and 988, respectively, indicates that guides 964, 976 and 988 may bein close vicinity or far away from guides 968, 980 and 992,respectively. Guides 968, 980 and 992 transmit to optical choppers 970,982 and 994, respectively, the modulated signals, such as modulatedsignal 952 illustrated at guide 968.

Streams, like signal stream 952, propagating along branches 964, 976 and988 may be modulated by Return to Zero (RZ) format in which pulses 954and spaces 956 have the same time width W. Choppers 970, 982 and 994receive from respective guides 968, 980 and 992 the modulated signals,like signal 952, and chop their pulses, such as pulses 954, by a factorof k₁, to produce narrower pulses, such as pulses 960 of stream 958(shown, for example, at guide 972), at optical guides 972, 984 and 996,respectively.

Choppers 970, 982 and 994 may be of any type of optical chopper and inparticular of the types disclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/472,776, filed May 23, 2003, entitled “Generating of HighRate Modulated Pulse Streams”, (see “Reference to Other Applications”section above); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/472,244, filed Sep.22, 2003, entitled “Optical Pulse Chopper” (see “Reference to OtherApplications” section above); U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/826,363, filed Apr. 19, 2004, entitled “All Optical Chopping ForShaping and Reshaping, Apparatus and Method”, (see. “Reference to OtherApplications” section above); U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/827,314, filed Apr. 20, 2004, entitled “All Optical Chopping UsingLogic Gates Apparatus and Method” (see “Reference to Other Applications”section above) and US Patent Application Invented by Arie Shahar andEldan Halberthal, filed Apr. 29, 2004, entitled “All Optical Chromaticand Polarization Mode Dispersion Correctors” (see “Reference to OtherApplications” section above) which all of them are thoroughlyincorporated here by their reference.

Stream 958 includes narrow pulses with a width of W/k₁ that are spacedby the amount of time period equal to 2W. Variable delay lines 974,986and 998 receive from guides 972, 984 and 996, respectively, the choppedmodulated stream of pulses, such as stream 958 and transmit thesestreams into guides 1014, 1016, 1018, respectively. Variable delay lines974, 986 and 998 of branches 964, 976 and 988 are connected via couplers1028, 1030 and 1032, by guides 1014, 1016, 1018, respectively, tooptical combiner (coupler) 1026 having output port 1020. Combiner 1026combines and interleaves modulated streams of narrow pulses, like stream958, arrive from guides 1014, 1016 and 1018, to produce, at its outputport 1020, serial stream 1022 of modulated narrow pulses 1024 havingpulse rate that is higher than the pulse rate of the signals, likesignal 952, received by any of the branches 964, 976 and 988.

While system 950 illustrates three parallel branches 964, 976 and 988that their signal is chopped by choppers 970, 982 and 994, respectively,and interleaved, in equal spaces by combiner 1026, to produce a serialstream 1022 having a high pulse rate, the number of parallel branchesmay be equal to one over the chopping factor k₁ (1/k₁) of choppers 970,982 and 994.

In a situation where signals, such as signal 952, arrive to parallelbranches 964, 976 and 988 from independent sources and with clocksynchronization that may vary, the delay time produced by variable delaylines 974, 986 and 998 should be controlled to assure equally spacedinterleaving, by combiner 1026, of the signals, such as signal 958,arriving from guides 1014, 1016 and 1018 of branches 964, 976 and 988,respectively.

The space (the delay) between two adjacent interleaved signals should beequal to 2·W·k₁, and thus the time delay that the variable delay lines,in the parallel branches, should produce is given by (2·W·k₁)·i, where iis the index of the parallel branch. To control the time delay of thevariable delay lines 974, 986 and 998, part of the signals propagatingin guides 1014, 1016 and 1018 of respective branches 964, 976 and 988 istapped by couplers 1028, 1030 and 1032 and is carried by guides 1006,1008 and 1010, respectively, into controller 1012. Controller 1012receives the tapped signals from guide 1006, 1008 and 1010 and in turnproduces electronic signals in leads 1000, 1002 and 1004, respectively,for controlling the delays of variable delay lines 974, 986 and 998,respectively. In general, the time delay that each variable delay lineproduces should be greater by the amount of 2·W·k₁, with respect to thetime delay of the variable delay line in the previous parallel branch.Controller 1012 controls the delay times of the variable delay lines tocompensate for random fluctuations in the rate and arrival time of thesignals in the different parallel branches. In this specific case wheresystem 950 includes three parallel branches 964, 976 and 988, thechopping factor k₁ is ⅓ and the delay times produced by controller 1012and variable delay lines 974,986 and 998 are τ, τ+2 ·W/3 and τ+4·W/3,respectively, where is arbitrary.

When signals, like signal 952, arrive to branches 964, 976 and 988 andare synchronized with respect to one clock and their generation iscontrolled with respect to this clock, they may be produced, by theirgenerator or generators, with the proper delays suitable for theinterleaving. In such a case variable delay lines 974, 986 and 998 maybe adjusted to fixed time delays or may be removed from system 950together with controller 1012, leads 1000, 1002 and 1004, guides 1006,1008 and 10010, and couplers 1028, 1030 and 1032.

Output port 1020 may include an optical amplifier to compensate for theenergy loss associated with the chopping process of choppers 972, 984and 996.

It can be seen that the generators of high rate modulated stream ofpulses and the rate converters designed according to the presentinvention are capable of producing interleaved serial stream of pulsesat a rate that is higher than the rate of the parallel interleavedstreams that they receive. The rate of the modulated pulses in the abovementioned stream is also higher than the rate of the modulators used toproduce this stream.

All the embodiments according to the present, may include a continuoussequence of optical components connected by light guiding media such as,for example, optical fibers, planar waveguides, or planar circuits(PLC), which media may be fabricated using integrated optic techniquesand/or on-chip manufacturing. Alternatively, All the embodimentsaccording to the present may be constructed from discrete components, inwhich case the optical guiding media may be replaced by open space,e.g., vacuum, or by a non-solid, e.g., gaseous media, and thedirectional couplers may be replaced with beam splitters. It should beunderstood that all amplifiers and attenuators may include variableand/or adjustable components. It should be clear that all amplifiers maymade of amplifying media and devices and in particular are made ofSOA's, LOA's and EDFA's. It should be appreciated that all attenuatorsare made of attenuating media and devices and in particular are made ofcouplers and absorbing amplifiers.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, andequivalents may occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is,therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended tocover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spiritof the invention.

1. An all optical system for interleaving the signals of multiple information channels comprising: multiple optical chopping devices arranged along multiple optical paths to receive and chop pulses of a first group of information channels to produce a second group of information channels having pulses that are narrower than the pulses of said first group of information channels; and an interleaving device to receive and interleave the pulses of said second group of information channels from said multiple optical paths to produce an information channel operating at a rate that is higher than the rate of each of said information channels of said first group.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said optical paths include optical delay lines.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein said optical delay lines are variable optical delay lines.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein said system further includes a control unit for controlling said variable optical delay lines.
 5. The system of claim 4 wherein said control unit controls the delays of said variable optical delay lines to produce equally spaced interleaving of the information channels of said second group.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein at least two channels of said first group of information channels arrive from two different sources respectively.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein said optical chopping devices are selected from the group including self-chopping devices, self-switching devices, self-triggering devices, self-controlled devices, self triggered gates, and modulating devices with a self-control feature. 